Six of Constellation's wine brands sold, Mexico's first IGP and three new French grape varieties

Constellation sells six of its wine brands to The Wine Group

Back on 4 March, WineBusiness published an article utilising information leaked by an anonymous source saying that Constellation Brands were in negotiations to sell most of their wine portfolio to Duckhorn and Delicato. There has been no further news on that. However, on 9 April, it was announced that The Wine Group – owners of Cupcake and Franzia – had purchased six of Constellation’s wine brands – Cook’s, J Rogét, Meiomi, Robert Mondavi Private Selection, SIMI and Woodbridge – as well as three production facilities, and the property or the leases for 6,600 acres (2,671 ha).

So, my question is – was the leaked information just to encourage bids? And will Constellation also be selling its premium wine brands?

Mexico's first IGP

Many thanks to Mexico-wine expert Louise Hurren for sharing that on 24 March, Mexico was granted its first IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida, or protected geographical indication) for wine by the Mexican Institute of Industrial Property (IMPI). The official specifications for the IGP were published in the Diario Oficial de La Federación (DOF) on 10 March. The new IGP is for Querétaro – one of Mexico’s 31 states. Querétaro is located in north-central Mexico – about 2 hours’ drive north of Mexico City – and is the third-largest wine-producing state in Mexico, after Baja California and Coahuila, and the largest producer of sparkling wine. According to the DOF, it currently has 550 ha (1,359 acres) under vine. While the IGP specifies the area of land on which grapes are grown, winegrowers can cultivate any variety they would like. According to a piece we published from Hurren in 2021, Querétaro is best suited to early-ripening white varieties. Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay do well here, as well as the Cava varieties Xarello and Macabeo, which have been popularised by the Cava giant Freixenet, which has been making traditional-method sparkling wines here for more than 40 years.

Three new grape varieties approved in France

On 25 March, France’s Minister of Agriculture added three new grape varieties to the list of grapes that can be planted, replanted or grafted for the purposes of wine production in France – Mourvèdre Blanc, Mourvèdre Gris and Exelys – a white variety bred by INRAE, the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment. Vitisphere reports that Mourvèdre Blanc and Mourvèdre Gris, both spontaneous mutations of the dark-skinned Mourvèdre, had already been registered in the official catalogue of plants cultivated in France since November 2023. The Var Chamber of Agriculture has been monitoring plots of these varieties for the last decade. The INRAE developed Exelys by crossing Alain Bouquet's Mtp 3160-11-3 and Bronner from the Freiburg Institute of Viticulture in Germany and registered the variety in May 2024. Mourvèdre Blanc and Mourvèdre Gris are more drought-tolerant than Mourvèdre and show high levels of disease resistance. Exelys is completely resistant to powdery mildew.

While I would be very curious to taste wine from Mourvèdre Blanc or Gris, I’m a bit more leery of wine produced from Exelys – only because Mtp 3160-11-3 and Bronner don’t sound very appetising. That said, the description that Vitisphere gives of Exelys – an aromatic fruity and floral wine with a sugar/acid balance comparable to that of Colombard – sounds appealing. So maybe it will be delicious!

Trump's postponement of tariffs

Last week I reported on the 2 April 10% tariffs on all US trading partners as well as the additional ‘reciprocal’ tariffs that were imposed on the EU and South Africa, raising their rates to 20% and 30% respectively.

On 9 April Trump announced a pause on all reciprocal tariffs except those imposed on China – whose tariffs he raised from 54% to 145%. This pause is currently slated to last 90 days. The EU responded by immediately pausing the retaliatory measures they had approved against the US for 90 days.

I am sincerely happy for the wine world. However, it’s not all sunshine and roses. The 10% blanket tariffs are still in place. There is a massive amount of upheaval and uncertainty. The US and China are in an escalating trade war that has the potential to cripple the US economy and possibly China’s. But, globally, we are in a better place today then we were on Tuesday.

That’s all for this episode of the wine news. If you enjoy this newscast and would like to see it continue, please subscribe to JancisRobinson.com. And if you have breaking news in your area, please email news@jancisrobinson.com.

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USA Mexico France viticulture

Samantha Cole-Johnson